Sector(s)
Five Jars performed a digital transformation of the CEC brand by doing a website redesign, migrating the website to Drupal, streamlining several sections of the site, and introducing a platform for 70+ microsites.
About the client
Founded in 1922, The Council for Exceptional Children is the largest professional association of educators focused on advancing the success of children with exceptionalities. CEC is the leading place for community and resources in special education and is well known as a source for information, resources, and professional development for special educators.
About the project
Goals
To understand the goals of the project, we first analyzed existing solutions and client’s Google Analytics data.
After that, we outlined the following action points:
- Improve overall brand consistency.
- Make the site visually appealing, dynamic, and responsive.
- Make sure the site complies with the latest 508 compliance standards.
- Build infrastructure for consolidating 70+ microsites into one platform.
- Improve user journey by optimizing navigation menus and streamlining various pages like store, events, and membership offer page.
Process
Design
We went through multiple design phases that included:
- Reviewing competitor websites.
- Creating a conceptual sitemap.
- Building responsive wireframes and mockups.
In the end, we created a design that was mobile-friendly, component-based, and significantly improved user navigation. The client approved the redesign we created, and we moved on to migration and site optimization.
We created a design that was mobile-friendly, component-based, and significantly improved user navigation.
Migration to Drupal
After creating a new design for the website, we focused on migrating the site from Sitecore to Drupal. Drupal enabled us to build an intuitive and responsive interface that helped users complete their tasks with ease on both desktop and mobile.
We built a hierarchical template page structure and a robust tagging system that helped increase average session duration and engagement metrics. The templates with Drupal's layout builder feature allowed to make the CMS user-friendly and easy to use.
The templates with Drupal's layout builder feature allowed to make the CMS user-friendly and easy to use.
- Improved content management experience
- Set of templates and components for easy layouts
- Robust tagging system for topics
Microsite consolidation
We designed and built an infrastructure to consolidate 70+ microsites into one comprehensive site for better brand consistency. The websites included 53 units, 18 divisions, blog, store, and more. When executing the consolidation strategy, we put the focus on increasing revenue and promoting the brand.
- Framework for the consolidation of 70+ websites
- Centralized content management
- Permissions systems for individual websites
We designed and built an infrastructure to consolidate 70+ microsites into one comprehensive site for better brand consistency.
Membership, single sign-on, and integration with iMIS
The membership section was essential for the CEC sales pipeline, so we needed to display all the necessary information and pricing clearly. To achieve that, we completely redesigned the section. The resulting page was more straightforward and helped increase awareness of how a CEC membership could benefit users.
We also implemented single sign-on with iMIS for multiple systems to provide a seamless brand experience and give users one simplified way to do transactions with CEC.
- Responsive pages
- Streamlined membership purchasing journey
- Single entry point for multiple websites
Store
One of CEC's crucial features was a store with books, eBooks, journals, and other printed materials. We designed and built a new store experience that would be enjoyable for the users.
Now website visitors can easily find the necessary books and publications, add products to the cart, and then finalize the purchase via single sign-on/iMIS.
- Simplified purchasing journey
- Integration with iMIS
- Improved search capabilities and pricing awareness
Events
Events are one of the pillars in the overall CEC community, so we focused on making both small and major events accessible for all users. Now attendees can easily register for an event, review the agenda, and find necessary travel information and accommodation. We also provided a framework to create microsites for events effortlessly.
Results
We launched a website for the Council for Exceptional Children in 5 months. The resulting website is much more dynamic, visually appealing, and mobile-friendly than the original. We have streamlined several parts of the website and added a common platform for all the microsites. Because of the improved content management experience that Drupal offers, it is much easier to add content to the site and manage microsites.
33% Amount of sessions increase
21% Average session time increase
Overall, the redesign and consolidation of microsites helped increase CEC brand consistency and ensure that users have enjoyable experiences across all touchpoints, whether they happen in the store, events, or other microsites. Furthermore, since Drupal is open-source, the client doesn’t need to spend extra resources on software licensing fees.
26% Pageviews by session increase
15% Number of new users increase
Why Drupal was chosen
Simple microsite management. The client has 70+ microsites, and Drupal has the advantage over other CMS alternatives like WordPress in managing and scaling a complex solution like that.
Open-source. In contrast to closed-source solutions like Sitecore, Drupal is open-source and has no licensing fees. By migrating to Drupal, we were able to cut a significant amount of client’s expenses.
Nonprofit community. Hundreds of nonprofits around the world already use Drupal. Using it enables nonprofits to take advantage of the already existing ecosystem of solutions and save time on development.
Good content management experience. Drupal is a digital experience platform that empowers everyone to participate in creating intuitive and easy-to-use websites.
Technical Specifications
Drupal version:
- iMIS, External Authentication, and Key - invaluable for SSO integration with iMIS CRM.
- Domain, Domain Configuration, Domain Menus, Domain Path, Domain Site Settings, Domain Access Unique Logo, Domain Access Simple Sitemap - almost all the features we need to power 70+ microsites.
- Layout Builder Browser, Layout Builder Modal, Layout Builder Styles - significant enhancements to the Layout Builder supplied with Drupal core.
- Search API, Search API Solr, Search API Exclude Entity, Facets - de-facto standard to support search functionality.
- Content Locking - lock the specific item from being edited by another person not to lose your changes.
- Element Class Formatter - allows assigning additional classes to field output, allowing to have fewer preprocess functions.
